Disclaimer: You're it::runs away quickly while yelling: I don't own Hellsing!...

Chapter Eight

Poor Walter was confused. Oh so very, very confused. And as he sat there, all ten of his fingers lightly soaking in a warm, soapy bowl of water, he really did have to wonder if perhaps, Sir Integra had officially lost her mind. He wouldn't necessarily be surprised. It was a rough job, being the leader of the Hellsing Organization, and while she had been training for it for her entire life, it was still painful to the soul to have to deal with so much death on a regular basis.

But really! Sending him out on such strange tasks (which had taken several hours by themselves to complete) and then, of all things, sending him to get a MANICURE!

"Fingers done yet sir?"

"Hm?" He looked up to meet the young woman's eyes and was frankly surprised to see that she seemed annoyed and quite tired of her job. You think you have it rough young lady, try killing vampires for a living…

"Are... your… fingers… clean…?" Alright, now that was taking it a bit too far, at least in Walter's point of view. The incredible sarcastic tone that she was using was more than rude! Sure, he may have been several years older than most of the patrons in the salon, and yes, he was the only male in there at that time, but did that really give her the reason to act so damn rude to him?

Well…

"Yes, I do believe so…" In an act that seemed to be at lightning speed, the young woman sat down, took his hands out of the water and went about drying, massaging, and all other things that you get done when you have your nails done.

Within the next few minutes, she was finished. Walter was amazed. Not only did he still feel as though his hands were STILL in the water, but his nails were shiny and perfect, not to mention how revitalized his hands felt. Perhaps Sir Integra had not been so crazy as to tell him to do this. However, the question still remained; Why had she told him to do this? What were those two (Sir Integra and Pip) planning? Surely they had to be planning something. Perhaps even plotting against him? Maybe they knew that he knew that they were going to know that he knows that…

Walter forced himself to stop thinking; he really was only confusing himself.

"AHEM!" Walter shook his head slightly as he came out of his confusing thought bubble. Looking up, he saw the young woman impatiently tapping her feet, waiting for him to get up and get out.

Just for that, he moved as sloooooooooow as possible, just because he could. When he finally stood up and made his way over to the cash register, there was already another young woman in his seat, gabbing incomprehensible nonsense to the woman who had just given him the manicure.

Walter shook his head and paid the person at the register before exiting and making his way over to the car he had driven in. Sighing softly, Walter opened up the drivers' door, sat down, and started the car. Looking around inside the car, Walter was still completely baffled as to why he had been sent out to get these things.

A basketball, when they didn't have any courts, a pack of diapers, which he desperately hoped weren't for him, and a dozen other strange things including several old keys, a bottle of cheap shampoo and a copy of 1984, which he hoped Sir Integra wasn't about to make him read.

Walter turned on the radio and was surprised to hear one of his favorite songs. Now feeling quite a bit better about the day, he drove the 'scenic' route back to the mansion, enjoying the song playing and when that ended, the one after that… and the one after that… He had to wonder, just a bit, if the radio ALWAYS played these songs and always right in a row…

It was about that time when he realized that it was a CD. And yes, while this brought on a bit of embarrassment, he had to wonder who would have gone to the trouble to find out what his favorite songs were, put them on a CD, and then proceed to put it into the very car that he was now driving. For some reason, Walter had to wonder if that strange person had also put this CD into every other car, because how were they supposed to know that he would drive THIS car.

Something was certainly afoot.

Back at Alucard's House

Seras felt as though she was swimming through thick mud. Her breathing was heavy and her head was throbbing as though there were several jackhammers doing a combination of tap and tango inside of her head.

She moaned softly before attempting to open her eyes. Everything seemed to be bathed in a thick layer of fuzz, making the room seem completely out of focus. Besides that, her eyes also seemed to be extremely light sensitive, and while there was only a fire burning, it made her eyes water and made her want to cry.

"Police Girl?" Seras heard her Master's familiar voice, softly, by her ear. Despite how hard she tried, her eyes refused to open. Until, that is, before Seras recalled the last thing she had seen.

"Master!" The Police Girl shot up into a sitting position and immediately hissed in agony as the still reconnecting tissue of her stomach was ripped open again. Seras doubled over in pain as she slowly forced her eyes open. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of her head and she wanted to raise her hand up and wipe it away. Frustratingly, Seras couldn't move.

"Ma…s…ter…" Seras grit her teeth together as she looked around through squinted eyes, seeking out Jacob. The last thing she remembered was… staring at her Master as he remained unable to move. That bastard… I'll kill him!

From behind her, Seras felt an arm support her back as the familiar tendril of her Master's mind crept into her own, easing the pain and allowing her to fully open her eyes.

"Wh-Where's J-Jacob?" Alucard chuckled in response.

"When you hit him over your head with your… tennis racket, very inventive by the way, he lost his focus long enough for me to be set free. And from there Seras, I destroyed him, completely and utterly." Seras shivered as images of his death entered her brain. In a sick sort of way, Seras was pleased; however, she didn't remember any tennis racket.

"Seras…" She focused on him once more, pleased simply because he had said her name.

"Yes, Master?"

" You do realize that you very nearly died. I suppose that you only lived because you are of my blood."

" I don't… really remember what happened Master." He sighed, and in a swift and careful motion lifted her, sat down against the headboards, and lowered her in front of him so that she leaned against him. Seras blushed a light pink but felt far more relaxed as though the pain was being abated by his simple contact.

"You were beaten to a bloody pulp, stabbed by a blessed blade and passed out, but not before bashing Jacob over the head with a tennis racket made of darkness." For some reason, Seras found this extremely amusing and had to be held in place by Alucard as she burst out laughing.

" Sorry Master!" He chuckled lightly and wrapped his arms around her, breathing softly into her ear.

" The only thing you have to be sorry for is making me worried…" Seras blinked a few times. Had she heard him correctly? Had he just said that he had been…worried about her? Her flush deepened to a dark shade of fuchsia as she leaned back against him.

For several long minutes, neither of them said, nor did anything as they simply enjoyed the peace and the crackle of the wood in the fire. As the silence seemed to deepen around them, Seras' eyes felt heavy, as though someone had just put several lead bricks onto them. She also recognized the smell of blood and the familiar dampness of her shirt as her now open wound slowly bleed through her clothing.

Blinking a few times, Seras turned slightly towards her Master.

"Master…" Her wording was slow, and labored. "I'm bleeding… and sleepy…"

"I know Police Girl. I can smell it… Sleep now."

"Right… Master…" She murmured softly.

Slowly, Seras' breath grew even and much quieter as she fell into a sleep not brought on by her own volition.

8 8 8

Walter sighed as he slowly pulled into the huge Hellsing garage. He had long since given in. If Sir Integra was going to debase herself to marry… Pip… could he really, really do anything to stop her? NO! Of course he couldn't. He loved her, and would protect her forever, not to mention the fact that he would do anything to make her happy.

And… if marrying Pip would truly make her happy, then… he wouldn't do anything to ruin it for them.

After bashing his head for a few minutes on the steering wheel (which, surprisingly, helped to calm his nerves), Walter slid himself out of the car, deciding to come back for the bags after he was finished with… whatever he did during the day.

Humming some nameless tune, Walter walked up to the front door, glancing occasionally up towards the steadily graying sky.

"Hm… There may be rain a bit later…" As he came up to the door, he noticed something quite odd.

The door was open a crack. Just a crack, but the point was... it wasn't closed. Instantly he felt as though he had just been doused with a bucket of ice water. A knot was forming in the pit of his stomach as he reached hesitantly for the doorknob.

Even before he had to think, there was a thin wire stretched between his fingers as he edged his way into the manor. There was something else wrong, something he never expected to see in his lifetime working for Hellsing.

Every single light was out. The entire building was completely black; as though there had been a power shortage… which was impossible since it was HELLSING.

Walter's eyes narrowed as he slowly entered Hellsing. What the hell is going on…

8 8 8

Seras was having the strangest sensation. She was freezing and yet, at the same time, she was perfectly warm. Besides that, the feathery softness of the bed she had been laying on the last time she awoke was gone, replaced now by the feeling of being carried. By something warm for that matter. For some strange reason, she desperately hoped it wasn't a clown. She was terrified of clowns…

" No, I am not a clown Police Girl." That woke her up. Seras' eyes opened slowly and for a split second she had the feeling that she was in the middle of a pillow fight.

"Master… is it snowing?"

"Yes."

"Inside the house?"

"..."

The Police Girl assumed that by his silence that they were probably outside. It wasn't her fault for assuming they were inside, she was extremely woozy and felt slightly nauseous. Staring at the snow covered ground as it went by only made things worse, prompting her to close her eyes. With her eyes closed and nothing to really talk about, Seras found that she had time to access her wounds by feel.

Her entire body felt as though she had been slammed into a stone wall several times, not to mention the feeling that she had been punched by a brick. An accurate assumption since that was basically what happened. However, those were nothing more than scratches compared to the pain in her stomach.

Seras shifted towards Alucard and instantly hissed in pain, clutching onto his coat until the immediate pain dulled to a throb.

"Don't move Seras. It's difficult enough carrying you without having you moving around and opening up your stomach again. I've already closed your wound once today, don't make it twice."

" But… Master… If I just drank some blood, wouldn't it heal?"

For a moment, Alucard remained silent. The Police Girl tentatively opened her eyes and looked curiously up towards her Master.

"The knife was blessed, coated with a strange substance. I was not able to identify it, and as such, you are having problem healing. And about the blood, I have been feeding you for the past several days." Alucard grinned strangely and stared down at her.

"I also think you should know that you talk in your sleep…" Seras flushed and averted her eyes towards the sky. Her 'breath' caught in her lungs as she took in the beauty of the snow, drifting lazily down from the dark gray sky. A flake landed on her nose, taking longer than usual to melt on her already cold nose. Still flushing, Seras looked up at the No Life King.

" Master… I know that I'm still weak, but could you put me down? I want to walk in the snow for a minute…" Alucard stopped and gently set her down on the snow. Standing, Seras was able to see that she was wearing a long shirt, reaching down to her knees, and besides that, an old pair of boots that fit her comfortably.

She shivered, and took a step forward, only to fall to her knees in pain. Oh how lame! I can't even move… Behind her Alucard chuckled.

" I told you that you that you shouldn't move." In the blink of an eye, Alucard stood beside her, his arm around her waist to hold her up. Seras smiled a fangy grin as she looked over at him. Together the two vampires took a few steps forward. They moved slowly, and carefully, Alucard holding up most of her weight.

As they walked, Seras was glad for her vampiric hearing. Because of it, she was able to hear the sound of the still falling snow crunching under her feet. A sound she found extremely pleasant.

Eventually they stopped moving. Seras closed her eyes and pointed her face towards the sky, allowing each flake to land on her upturned face. Alucard's arm left her waist momentarily, leaving Seras to sway side to side. She wasn't swaying for long, as Alucard returned to stand in front of her. Gently, Alucard wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to lean on his chest. Seras continued to flush as Alucard placed his chin on top of her head.

"M-Master?" Alucard pulled her away gently, and looked her in the eyes.

" Seras, you are a bit slower than I thought. Lucky for you, you don't have much constraint when it comes to sleeping and talking." Seras bit her lip, unconsciously drawing blood. Sometimes it just wasn't all that helpful to have sharp fangs…

Of course, the blood welling up from the tiny wound on her lip drew both Alucard's gaze and his nose.

" Do me a favor Police Girl…"

" Yes Master?"

" Try not to move…" Seras looked up at him, eyes widening as the Great No Life King bent down slightly and slowly brought his face closer to hers. Seras found herself leaning forward, her eyes closing as the two met in the middle.

Seras allowed her hands to bury themselves within Alucard's hair, as his hands moved to wrap around her, blocking out the cold wind that seemed to pick right at that moment. And as the two drew closer, they lost themselves in each other, forgetting themselves as the snow continued to fall around them.

A/N: Alright… I lied… I'm sorry… There's going to be ONE more chapter… I think… Sorry if this sucks, but as I wrote this, I was all stressed out from school. Now, school's out! I'm also sorry that this took so long to come out. Took me forever to write it, then forever again to edit it a few times, plus I'm not all that good with the whole romance thing… As always, I ask for reviews because they make me happy. Much love from the humble author. u.u